During the events of 'A Runner Family Reunion'

The patter of hooves set to the cadence of a foxes' gait rapidly approached and climbed the stairs. Vixie burst out of the basement door, her darting eyes wild as Split Claws' and a trail of foaming spittle running down her chin.

“THE STRAWBERRY WEASEL! The spiders!..... AWOOOOOOO!”

Glass Darkly raised a hoof as if it could ward off the magic and fought to avoid being paralyzed by the clearly high-as-a kite shapeshifter. Glass Darkly managed to keep his senses together but few among his comrades were as lucky.

Great. This…incident…was growing into a real wreck. It was not that Glass discounted the need to rescue edIT, Glass had a great deal invested into their Fixer, and liked the pony. Sundown was also a nice bar, though far too dangerous for Glass/Tisiphone to visit these days. So much had hinged on edIT not pressing Glass Darkly that much about the empty manacase that had been turned in with a shrug one fateful night so long ago. Beyond the likelihood that this was an elaborate trap, Tisiphone did not want to clarify how exactly Glass was so good at impersonation to a prospective replacement fixer.

Of course, the wrench thrown in the works so recently was providing no shortage of schadenfreude. Tisiphone could only marvel at how thinly transparent the likely Orange Hive changeling was being. ‘Arcing Lemon' had shown up as a completely different pony compared to Cardinal Banana when the call had gone out that Sundown had been attacked. That could be overlooked and in fact, was a reasonable precaution, but the changeling had flown there personally when in his previous guise, Banana had not possessed wings. Glass had of late been a frequent offender in overselling what Illusion magic could do, but Glass had always been plausible about it. No half-truth was possible here. No illusionary spell could give a pony functional wings.

Then there was the blood-drinking, which Lemon had labeled an obscure form of Hedge Magic. Tisiphone could only marvel that Lemon would try to pass that lie off when Lemon had every reason to know that Glass Darkly was a trained mage who would know that practitioners of hedge magic had no such standard rituals, nor did they summon physical form spirits, yet Lemon had manifested those as well. Even then the act was enough to rouse suspicion among the least observant. Lemon was fortunate that Glass Darkly had every reason to carefully measure his response, not pressing the line of questioning too hard lest someone notice how similar some of Lemon’s abilities were to feats done by Glass Darkly.

Still, the fact that every pony else seemed only mildly threatened by the Orange Changeling gave Tisiphone pause. Had she been overly paranoid in hiding what she was? Being able to operate openly would simplify things immensely. The luxury of only needing a single step rather than the two or three she usually needed to obfuscate how she accomplished her magic would be welcome.

No… she must be cognizant that Split Klaw's sanity was suspect. Vixie was a magical fox pretending to be a pony and thus carried none of the past baggage a true pony would, and Gwynn as a Gryphon likewise was at the cultural periphery of past events, besides often being preoccupied with her self-doubts. They were not representative, and they could not be assumed to keep the Amethyst Queen's secrets or be assumed to not second guess her motives.

The larger problem as Glass Darkly ended Vixie's rampage in a way that did no favors to anyone’s self-dignity was apparent.

“Flitter,” the inquiry went out via psychic ping.

“Yes, my Queen?”

“The Orange Fool has a basement that was just revealed to likely have more changelings within.”

“I see...I assume this means that your request that we monitor the Orange drone to see whether it might be recruited is at an end? The presence of several would imply that they have a Queen. Do you wish me to bring in Prima and put together a strike?”

“It may be a group of renegade drones,” Tisiphone psychically demurred, “but a Queen is likely, the question is whether it is Arcing Lemon or someone else. Regardless have a crew on standby, I am far too vulnerable here in the Orange domain if they realize who I am. Beyond that I fear these orange changelings are likely to do something on par with Chitina's or Chrysalis’s idiocy in the long run. Lemon's attempts at a masquerade are as bad and as transparent as those matrix sites advertising mail order Alicorn brides from Stalliongrad.”

Glass Darkly returned his attention to the debate raging within the rundown apartment.

“Erase her memory,” the demand came without a hint of compromise from Arcing Lemon.

Glass Darkly considered the request….for about two seconds. Vixie had been out of line, but Arcing Lemon had all but invited this turn of events. The pride of an Orange Drone was not worth a kitsune's loyalty.

“No, I don’t mess with the heads of teammates.”

“She shouldn’t have been in my lodge!”

“Agreed, but we’re stuck now waiting for her to recover before we can make our next move on edIT.”

Gwynn, possibly the only member present to be accomplishing anything, piped up.

“There’s a sketchy reservation at a luxury hotel downtown, might be Endgame.”

“Good work, it’s more than what my spirit found,” Glass Darkly sighed.

“You’re leaving it at that?!” Arcing Lemon protested? “I may only be five years old, but I know to stay out when I’m asked to stay out!”

Glass Darkly turned, his expression cold.

“You’re a five-year-old bat pony with a horn or wings variably, that drinks blood?”

The metaphorical shot across the bow was unmistakable.

“I’m…. I’m precocious,” Arcing Lemon chose to keep digging…

“You’re a nuisance and liability to your species,” Tisiphone thought in reply.

Later

Glass Darkly drummed his hoof on the table in the suite. The real wood likely didn’t deserve the treatment but his frustration was palatable. They had tracked Endgame to their base in the hotel, they were near. Near was not the same as accessible. Time was valuable. Tisiphone had learned this lesson well long before. She never had enough of it. Yet their efforts to find an opening had only located dead ends. As Glass Darkly, she had advocated disturbing the status quo, to force a situation that would render Endgames’ refuge untenable. For the first time in a long time, she had not found success in swaying her comrades to her plan. Glass had advocated for a more direct insertion and replacement of the hotel’s staff, and again had found little support. The rest of them were content to wait on Arcing Lemon's relatively slow plan to achieve the replacement of the hotel's front desk manager. Odd considering that within the last 24 hours Lemon had all but threatened Vixie with death.

The glacial progress vexed Tisiphone. She alone seemingly understood that while edIT may be alive and well only a few suites away, the secrets edIT carried we’re likely being drawn from their fixer. Worse she suspected what secrets were being sought. Tisiphone had set the CMC on a lengthy goose chase as to what had become of the first two cores. If all other possibilities had been eliminated, then there was but a single possibility left.

“How many hours until Lemon's shift starts?”

“A few,” A supremely comfortable Vixie looked up from her pile of pillows, then returned to her fox nap.

Glass Darkly stifled a yawn. Her last night’s rest had been interrupted by the summons to Sundown, and she was a bit tired after supporting Vixie’s scampering investigations through the hotel ducts. Beyond that the last few weeks had been a whirlwind of activity. She was badly in need of a long rest. A quick nap wouldn’t be beyond decency, surely the minor indulgence was harmless given that there was no consensus to act sooner. Glass Darkly found an unoccupied rampart of Vixie's pillow fort and told himself that they’d set things aright…soon.

Later

Tisiphone did her best to keep her boredom off Glass Darkly’s face as the conversation circled around the same half baked plan they had yet to improve on. Another variant of Split Klaw plus frontal assault equaling adequate success.

“My Queen?” The psychic question came.

“Yes, Prima?”

“There’s some pony skulking in the courtyard, they –“

The lump of dread in the Queen’s stomach was denser than lead and bitter as gall.

“Prima! What’s going on!?”

“We’re under attack! Several, heavily armed!”

An impression of pain seared across the psychic link as the staccato scream of bullets slammed into spectral chitin armor. A shadow Of her Doberman drone surging forward to cover Prima as she crawled out of the line of fire only for the stalwart little drone to be torn apart in a hail of bullets.

Glass Darkly interrupted the conversation around the suite table.

“This is a distraction, Endgame is at my home…killing my friends,” he icily noted as he stood up and moved to the far side of the suite. Tisiphone felt horrible. The long delay by Endgame had instantly become clear, they had lured the Queen away, and now her Knights and Pawns were paying the price.

“I have to try and stop them. Do what you can here.” Glass Darkly commanded, without waiting for a response. Tisiphone was already astral and on her way. It still wasn’t fast enough.

Not fast enough to stop Seven's alarm as the door was blown in, the wards collapsing under the onslaught. From behind the hastily overturned couch, Tisiphone felt Seven shooting back but heavy weapons fire raked the room, reducing furniture to flying shards of plaswood, fabric, and metal.

Pangs of pain echoed across the Hive Mind. A psychic roar of rage answered.

“To arms my children! We cannot lose the Cores! We will not be defeated, not again!”

In the Pacific University library, a half dozen students abruptly rose from their seats and ran to the door. Another group of Silver Screen contractors abruptly threw the scheduling assignments into chaos as they canceled. In a half dozen bars scattered across Southern Seattle, awkward excuses were being given.

“No you can’t leave like this, not like this!”

A mare clung to the hunky, heart throb of a stallion that seconds earlier had been snuggling her.

“My people…uh…need me. I must go now.”

The apparent Latin stallion shook robotically gave his weak justification and shook loose the hold on his leg and ran out the door.

Elsewhere, Tisiphone’s astral form approached her home as an explosion ripped through the rear hallway. She checked her astral movement only to watch in horror as the safe with the manacase was thrown out the window. A chance! The levitate spell made the mage vulnerable. She poured her rage into the lightning bolt and sent a stream of crackling Amethyst death towards the mage.

The weave of the spell frayed and tore as it approached its target, it hit, but was barely worse than a bad bit of static. Tisiphone raged, but rarely had she felt as powerless as now. Her astral spirit could do little as the mage ended her spell and the astral target faded. Into the truck, they climbed.

Tisiphone turned to the shattered ruins of what had been her most recent home, the latest in a long line. Trails of smoke rose from shattered appliances and her smoldering drone. Prima shifted under some rubble, bleeding heavily. Seven was alive, barely, buried under half of the couch Silverstream had talked her into buying. Tisiphone spared a look down the hallway and paused.

“Frizzle, no…”

Tisiphone reached out to touch the crumpled form of her Caretaker. A half-empty taser and Frizzle’s favorite broom laid next to the small Changeling. Frizzle stirred but only barely managed to react to the astral touch.

“Queen…(cough) is here, now we're saved….”

“Its okay Frizzle, help is coming, stay with us.”

“You have…stop them.”

Tisiphone glanced as the truck pulled away. Another astral signature disappeared amongst the ruined residence. She could only do one of the three things her heart desired.

“We…all have our…. purpose.” Frizzle whispered.

Tisiphone allowed another pang to trouble her heart, but Frizzle was right. She could not shrink away from this challenge. She was the Queen. She must lead, to fail to do so would be to fail Frizzle and her other wounded children far worse than her inopportune absence. Surety returned to the shattered home, and the smoldering fires were nothing compared to the Amethyst inferno that burned in a livid Queen’s eyes.

“Digs, and the closest workers. There are wounded at home base they have priority, remove everything traceable, and don’t skimp on the C-squared. Get my backup commlink from my desk, tell me when you have it. Flitter, you have the lead chase team. I am astrally tracking the truck, moving north, unclear where they’re going yet.

“Chuckbug Norris, Prima is out, you have command of the Soldiers, Facet will lead the Nymphs. I want Endgame alive if possible, I need to search their minds.” Tisiphone paused. “Alive is not necessarily the same as unhurt.”

A moment passed then another. The truck moved and Tisiphone followed though her thoughts strayed to the fact her body was still back at the hotel. If the rest of them had lost… no, such doom was unlikely. She had faith that even were some pony to best Split Klaw he would drag the victor screaming into the next life with him.

“You asked to be notified when we had your spare link, My Queen?”

“Yes, this is?”

“Mellow Mite, Caretaker.”

“Okay, Mellow, send a message about tracking the truck and ask for a status update using the Glass Darkly alias, remember you are my alter ego.”

“Understood.”

A minute ticked by.

“They say there was a fight at the Hotel. The one called Split Klaw is hurt pretty badly, something about blowing up a section of floor, they noted they’re evacuating after leaving two Endgame members dead. Someone named Kiwi Tiara is carrying, uh, you.

Tisiphone wasn’t sure if she should be happy or terrified at that prospect. Her mix of emotions likewise surged mercurially with the confirmation that the Hotel had been a red herring.

Slowly the minutes ticked away.

“Three minutes till home base is clear.”

“And?”

The implicit question was clear.

“Too soon to tell.”

Her thoughts along those lines were interrupted, they’d run into traffic. A low curse escaped her astral lips, her middling skill in the astral realm again only answered a portion of her inquiry. Construction workers were not normally dual-natured, but she couldn’t tell the allegiance of the new addition to the mix.

“Mellow, I need you to relay a question if the construction workers delaying the truck are Tiara's 'friends'?”

The truck below wove through traffic, scuffing a number of cars. Angry hooves were raised, but none challenged further.

“Yes,” Mellow answered after an aching pause.

Tisiphone wasn’t sure whether to be thankful that Tiara had contributed or wary that the Orange Hive might attempt to purloin the artifacts. If the Orange Hive also made a run on the cores…this had the potential to get very messy indeed. Flitter’s first wave was only minutes out.

“We’re clear,” Digs relayed a first bit of good news, “We were able to salvage most of Home base. Half of everything still being in boxes helped, we just managed to avoid Rice Paddy and the Shiawase Security Drones. It would have been better if we had the triple double-back entrance way I proposed last month.”

Digs couldn’t resist adding her 'I told you so' comment. Tisiphone was just happy for the small victory. The only casualty so far was her Rising Mist persona, but fake ponies were cheap. Her heart further leapt as two vehicles appeared on the highway access road, each full with the familiar psychic buzz of her Hive.

Which was well, the truck had finally escaped the traffic morass created by the Orange Contingent. An astral sigh of relief as none of the Orange drones moved to follow. Another small victory.

The vehicles came inexorably closer.

“You thought it was going to be simple, bypass the Queen, easy victory. Let’s see how well you handle the Swarm,” Tisiphone rhetorically asked the fleeing truck. Windows were opened.

A hail of gunfire echoed across the highway. Some cars dodged, others continued oblivious under command of Grid guide as errant bullets riddled them. Nymphs pressed in with spells but to her annoyance, these almost universally fizzled. The Endgame mage that had stymied her was earning their pay today. Tisiphone willed her children to victory but as pangs of psychic pain echoed through the hive mind with only modest damage to the truck it was apparent the heavier firepower and armor of the professional mercenaries was proving decisive.

Her Hive was suffering. It pained her to consider defeat.

“Pull Back,” she gave the order. “Evacuate the wounded. Consolidate whoever is still in fighting shape and shadow them. Slowing them down will have to be enough until we can get them out of that truck. I suspect they’re headed for the harbor, whoever is still on the way, collect the diving gear we used on the truck job. I suspect we’ll need it.”

Unfortunate, inopportune. The words swirled. She needed her Hive's support. Keeping Endgame contained, their moves monitored, was vital. More hooves on the ground were better, but in a few moments the crew would be arriving, and the presence of what would appear to be a third party would not go unnoticed.

Tisiphone considered….she sought her inner Zen and found serenity at the eye of her personal hurricane.

“Mellow?”

“Yes, my Queen?”

“How well do you dance?”

“Ugh…what is…dancing?”

“Rhetorical question, stick with me, you and I have a razor blade tango to orchestrate. Relay a message from 'me', direct Gwynn to scan the non-standard frequency bands. Give it 30 seconds, transmit the following in that same range…”

“…fall…back …zz…. Shadow Endgame… wait for zzzz reinforcements. …. Zzz Pine…zzz heads…if you fail.”

Tisiphone snapped back to her body as the COP SUV came up the dock road only a minute or two behind the Endgame truck which disappeared into the shipping crates atop a ship on the verge of pulling away from the quayside.

“Elegant,” Glass Darkly noted, Endgame’s escape ruse was proving annoying competent.

“Radiant Pines’ goons are on the far side dock,” Gwynn noted, as the COP skidded to a stop.

“Are they?!”

Glass Darkly inwardly smiled as he asked a question that she already knew the answer too. The opening flourish had been made. Now the quickening rhythm.

Flitter and crew in the guise of Radiant mercenaries blew open the bridge door while Vixie and Gwynn and boarded the deck to open their siege of the container fort.

…

The Percussion swelled, rockets exploded, a cry of pain echoed in the Hive mind.

“Flitter?”

“The bad memories hurt the most my Queen but these are just regular explosives, not that rainbow bullshit. I had four legs, I can manage without one.”

“Norris, you have command, evac Flitter,” Tisiphone demanded.

“I can still do this!” Flitterwing protested.

“That was an order Flitterwing, a soldier does not disobey,” Prima's chastisement came weak but firm.

A rattle of weapons added to the crescendo, Vixie had almost wound up an exotic rug.

Tisiphone felt the shift in the cadence, her gut spoke to her. A moment later she was astrally in the harbor. In the astral soup of water, chemicals, and assorted junk she found what the music of battle had suggested. A mini-sub under the ship.

“Clever, but not enough,” the Queen smiled, the Knights and Pawns couldn’t take Endgame in a straight fight but they could deny them the space to maneuver.

Now, the technically tricky sequence.

“Radiant's goons are trying to attach a crane,” Gwynn noted.

“…and this is bad for us how?” Glass Darkly launched into a solo duet from within the cover of the SUV between assembling all of Split Klaw's spare explosives and levitating the improvised device towards the ship. Improvising with spell and the scales of decision making as his instrument.

The groans of strain on the large cargo crane answered. But despite her subject's success in tethering the ship, still there was danger.

“Could you NOT do that?!” Glass Darkly pushed Split Klaw's gun barrel down and away from where he was drawing a bead on the 'Radiant mercenaries' across the canal.

“Damn, let me shoot one of them to make a point!!”

Glass Darkly frowned in the negative.

“Crane Crew keep your heads down, explaining that you were sent to bug Valhalla by a crazed hobo using a tricked out gun given to him by your Queen while working on a reverse double-cross… we’d never live it down.”

Snickers echoed in a psychic reply. But now, the grand crescendo. Glass Darkly threw his reserves into another lightning bolt. The Endgame mage could rip apart spells targeted at her, and her comrades, but the ship, the ship was another thing entirely.

Lightning arced into the ship. A moment later the drifting hulk shuddered, it’s back broken. Water in rising geysers cascaded down on the tilting deck.

“Wait, that much explosive was the hobo pony 'running out',” Norris buzzed a psychic inquiry.

“Yep,” Tisiphone added a mirthful note in reply.

“By all the Queens. I don’t know whether to applaud him or fear being within the same block as him.”

“That would make two of us.”

Murmurs echoed, but the fight was not yet won, though the nut had been well and truly cracked. Into the breach went the scouts. Tisiphone was already noting the escape of Endgame towards a drain in the quay.

“There’s a pony bound and gagged, we can hear the Griffon pounding on the far door…,” the advance team clarified.

Tisiphone’s mind raced…

“Let…let the Griffon save edIT, it raises fewer questions,” Tisiphone commanded, but wondered silently if this heroism would help her friend quench the fires of doubt…Gwynn’s efforts on the ship hadn’t seemed decisive, but none could doubt the bravery of them and the support had been crucial.

Tisiphone spared a thought to whether it might be a problem convincing Glass Darkly's fellows to continue now that edIT was in reach. She shouldn’t have worried. Split Klaw was not one to leave a dance unfinished.

(SPLASH)

Glass Darkly spared little time diving in after. A tunnel into the docks district…clever…but she was learning Endgame’s tricks…the dark pipe was forbidding…

“I'm sure it's trapped...do your best...I would not ask this in any other circumstance if I did not think that these items held the key to the future of the Hive... My hopes go with you...I expect that every drone will do their duty for the Hive..."

Tisiphone called out across the hivemind. For the first time, that day…she felt hesitation. She mentally searched. She had the squad retreating from the ship and the picket line she had set across the harbor entrance…second and third battles for the soldiers and scouts. Her anger began to escalate as the response came slowly.

“Yes…yes Queen…,” and in that moment her thoughts flashed to shame. The dull psychic pain that fed the red rage, echoed back that half her hive was injured. Some of the soldiers more walking wounded than capable after the battle on the highway and the carnival of traps within the engineering spaces of the ship.

“No..countermand that,” She quickly changed her mind. Her mother had not led from behind. She would disappoint her heritage.

Into the pipe, she went, Split Klaw only a few lengths behind her. In the distance ahead shapes moved… Again the sides squared up, for this the final movement. Glass Darkly was quicker…in that moment, she knew what would happen, but again the lightning crackled…

The spell tore itself apart as the mage of Endgame shoved her comrades out of the way…raising her hooves…static electricity cascaded over the tunnel walls. Glass Darkly could feel the mage smirking behind her SWAT armor mask.

Glass Darkly smirked back. With a dancer’s flourish Glass Darkly twirled out of the line of fire, to reveal Split Klaw suspended in the murky water, the distraction complete.

Glass Darkly mouthed to himself, “you may fire when ready.”

Split Klaw of course needed no encouragement. Above ground, the retreating members of the Amethyst hive stopped for a heartbeat as manhole covers were thrown into the air on geysers of dark frothing water that erupted at regular intervals.

A psychic question was asked.

“Queen?”

A single mental image came back…of a mana case cradled in Glass Darkly’s arms.

“Victory…”

A chorus of psychic buzzes of joy and chirps of happiness went across the network. Glass Darkly smiled as her children carried away Flitter and the other wounded. Tisiphone busied herself pulling the stunned, unconscious forms of Endgame from the tunnel.

“My Queen,” Mellow psychically interrupted, “I have the message about the mistaken retreat you wanted me to send about the ‘Radiant Mercenaries’.”

“No need,” Tisiphone almost laughed in reply, “none of them seem to have realized that the ‘Radiant Mercenaries’ just left for no apparent reason. They’re not questioning it. No reason to call their attention to it.”

“But…,” Chuckbug Norris questioned, “How could they not think that was weird?”

“I don’t know, I’m scratching it up to wounds and the jitters from adrenaline overload,” Tisiphone shrugged inwardly as the last of the captured booty was loaded up. The real Radiant Pine security response was on the horizon, streaking in via armed VTOL, and they had scant minutes before the area was swarming with security. She didn’t have time to do anything else. She climbed into the COP and inwardly she gave a bow…if there had been a bouquet of flowers she would have happily taken it... It was done.

“That was one hell of a tango, Mellow,” Tisiphone gave a mental smile as she psychically congratulated her caretaker, “Now…We have been successful. I know that many of you suffered against professional runners today. Be assured that as quickly as we can we will tend to the wounded with magic and medkits. I know that it must be difficult to have not personally carried the day, but the intelligence and actions you carried out made victory possible. As your Queen, I am in your debt and will ensure that the items we recovered today are used to the benefit of the Hive...I salute you... Buzz, Buzz."

Another chorus of happy buzzes answered.

Everything was going to work out…her home had been destroyed, but what was another empty building?

Vixie turned to Glass Darkly and looked at the manacase.

“We’re going to have to do something about those. They’re not safe with you anymore.”

“Fox is right,” Split Klaw sagely nodded, “even if they attract such interesting people to fight.”

“If you’re getting rid of them, can I have one?” Tiara stuck her head in.

Tisiphone struggled to keep Glass Darkly’s face neutral as the victorious dancer did a figurative face plant while exiting the stage.

FUQ…. OH FUQ ME

Later (After A Runner Family Reunion)

A huge murmur of disquiet echoed through the meeting room.

“Are you sure? I mean I understand that you’ve been working on the spa for the last three decades but this really seems to have come out of the blue. Cozy, Box Office, I’ve known you two a long time… is everything alright?”

A crimson stallion that normally cut the look of an action star was giving a very unsure expression.

“I know it seems sudden,” Cozy Matinee placed a hoof on the stallion’s shoulder, “but we did a lot of soul searching recently, and we realized that we needed to take a step back. The recent spate of business has been useful in both helping us realize that we wanted to see the world a bit more before we got deeper into our golden years, along with helping make it a reality. The success wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

“We’ll still be around, but we wanted to take a yacht around the S. Poncific, soak up some sunshine. If everything starts to fall apart we can come back. Its not like we’re going to sail right off the edge of the world is it?,” Box Office chuckled, “And I have immense faith in the operating committee we’ve put together.

“Melody Night, Backlot, Amethyst Shadow, Glittering Facet, and Projecting Flicker. These ponies among you have been significant contributors. I trust them to do a great job.”

Murmurs of questioning continued.

“Facet and Amethyst have only been working here a few months, that’s kind of much isn’t it?”

Faces turned, but it was hard to tell who had piped up.

“Oi….can it. Amethyst has been a breath of fresh air and she’s done a great job of getting new faces in here and bringing new business. Now…I get it, you don’t like change. I don’t like to change. I’m an aging codger and I don’t like the idea of everything suddenly being different. But this, this is happening. Cozy Matinee and Box Office can’t run this show until the end of days, and I owe them too much to let you neighsayers ruin their ….quasi….retirement. So if you got a problem you come take it up with me.

Now we got some great ideas, this place has gone ten years without a significant update. We’re gonna do some renovations, make the place even nicer, a little sawdust, some workmen and soon we’ll have even more folks lining up to pay you fellas the moola.”

Backlot rubbed his hooves together avariciously.

“Now we gots work to do.”

There were grumbles but the room slowly emptied.

Melody Night headed for the far side as Backlot nodded his head. Snookie Sunshine ambushed her friend.

“Wow…I didn’t even know you were interested in this new planning committee. You’ve always been so non-committal on the idea of renovations, but I’m sure there’s some bonuses, and you’ll be able to do so much for Toola, but you’ll be away from her even more…do you need me to watch her for you.”

“Uh…yes…maybe…Toola, my…uh daughter, yes…I might need that…I’ll have to see.”

“Melody? Is everything okay?”

Snookie gave her best pleading eyes.

“Everything’s fine Snookie, you’ll see. Now I’m going to be late for the operations committee meeting.”

Snookie watched Melody walk into the conference room, Backlot at the door straightened his tie and looked Snookie in the eye as he slowly closed the double doors between them.

Snookie stood there in silence until the doors closed and locked.

On the other side…Amethyst looked at the renovation plans displayed on the wall. With a turn she regarded the four other ponies.

“You know what to do.”

All four ponies nodded and bowed their heads. Amethyst sat down and pulled out a trideo and began watching a recording of a Chinese mare begging for the assault on her mind to stop…

“Who sent you?”

“(I already told you…Couch…Mare)”

The answer wheezed as Amethyst put her hooves together…with the press of a button the trideo ended and a silent conversation began.

“Seven what’s the estimate for the mana shielding for the Temple, this danger won’t be over until I convince the others that I don’t have the cores anymore.”

“More time than money, My Queen.”

“I figured, I am coming to detest the word soon.”

Seven chuckled…Tisiphone did a double take.

“You…you laughed?!”

Tisiphone smiled as she felt the Worker blush…now…soon…

Later

The hour was late, the set was badly dressed as construction gear and supplies were scattered across the back service lot of Silver Screen Dreams. None cared or watched as another contractor truck pulled up. The lettering worn and faded. There were a hundred thousand such trucks in Seattle. Beneath notice. The truck backed into the supply dock for Silver Screen Dreams. Another delivery it would seem.

Ponies got out…and guided the truck into the dock. Just before it made contact the rolldown door was lifted…and the truck docked successfully. Several ponies stood inside the service bay. Construction supplies stacked on either side. One mare stepped forward and greeted the contractors, who with a nod turned and lifted the rolldown door on the back of the truck. A moment later and two long low objects came out… The manager mare stepped forward. Her eyes sparkled amethyst.

She looked over two stretchers as they were carried out by the ‘contractors’. Each carried a small mare, one with an oxygen mask, one missing a leg. The manager mare reached out and touched both. Her emotional mask falling away in that moment. She smiled.

“Frizzle, Flitter, welcome home, for real this time. No more shady boxes, no more being a cog, playing by the pony’s rules. This is ours. Our Hive. I welcome you.”

Soft buzzes went up from the onlookers. The wounded Caretaker turned her head and gave a big smile.

Author's Note

This chapter is a bit different as it tracks the events during events rather than occuring afterwards.

Game Notes: The team's fixer, edIT, is kidnapped from within her bar, Sundown. Investigation tracks an opposing runner team back to a luxury hotel, but while stopping at the new team member's home (the same player who had previously played Silky Sheets) even more evidence that the new team member is a changeling is discovered. Vixie (PC) slips off and sneaks into the basement after being told to keep out, and gets hit with a drug cocktail causing a significant delay.

The team locates the astral signature of edIT at the hotel, but has no way to access her without triggering a massive security response. Glass Darkly (PC) argues for a more aggressive approach, suspecting what the opposing team is really after, but gets out voted (Glass Darkly is still the only player aware of what the two gems actually are).

This results in Endgame moving forward with their plan. Leaving a rearguard, they hit Glass Darkly's home base with Glass Darkly/Tisiphone not being present. The rearguard at the hotel is taken down with some effort, while Glass Darkly flies back in spirit form but cannot appreciably do much other than track the Endgame team. Glass Darkly/Tisiphone calls in the remainder of the Hive and attempts to win back the stolen Cores, but the heavily armed Endgame team along with anti-magic specialist mage is able to beat back the assault.

The orange hive renegades (belonging to Kiwi Tiara) also show up and try to delay the Endgame team. This results in the main team catching up just as the Endgame team reaches the port and drives aboard a ship. Realizing that she needs her hive, Tisiphone has to effectively fight two battles at once. One to stop endgame, and the other to bluff her way through explaining where all the other combatants have come from. She does this by 'suggesting' that Gwynn try to intercept any communications being used while her Hive is sending messages that make it seem like they're a Radiant Pine mercenary force.

This results in what appears to be a three way Mexican standoff at the ship, though in actuality the 'Radiant Mercenaries, actually Amethyst changelings' are aligned to the Shadowtrot team. The battle is still brutal, and only narrowly won, mostly by Split Klaw having an inordinate amount of explosives and rockets in his personal stash.

Things immediately take a turn for the awkward, when afterwards, everyone believes that the 'gems' clearly need to be dealt with. As Tisiphone has previoulsy provided an inaccurate history that suggests that they are tainted in the same way as the Alicorn amulet this means destroying them.